PRESIDENT - Managing Director

John Richard (J.R.) Chantengco

Mr. Chantengco is a 30 year veteran in the capital markets, finance, and investment real estate space, having originated, underwrote, and transacted over USD 5B in structured capital and financing assignments as well as overseen real assets with over USD 20B AUM.  Its family office is a CDFI/CDE under the U.S. Treasury's New Markets Tax Credit Program and were founding shareholders in Pacific Commerce Bancorp (OTC:PCBC).  His experience has brought him into advising several funds focused on transformative real estate, bioscience, clean technologies, licensing and into a slate of unique film/media projects. 

Mr. Chantengco currently oversees deal flow and consults private investors of Fortune 500 companies on new acquisitions, corporate restructures, asset management, and early-stage deals (pre-IPO/SPAC).  He is a consultant to an online SEC-compliant Reg CF and Reg D exempt 506c platform focused on real estate, technology, and life sciences and is CIO of an institutional fund focused on industrial real estate.

In 2021, Globe St., a leading commercial real estate publication nominated Mr. Chantengco as a "Lender Influencer."  In the same year, NAPABA and APAICS nominated him to serve as Regional Director to HUD in New York and they previously nominated him to serve on the NCUA Board in 1994.  He was appointed as Secretary to the State of California's Housing Partnership Corporation by former Governor Gray Davis and continued to serve under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2001-2005.    

Mr. Chantengco served as 2020 & 2021 President for the New York Metro Certified Commercial Investment Member Chapter.  As an independent advisor, he was conferred the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) professional designation from the CCIM Institute in Chicago IL in 1992.  He earned professional certificates in Community Economic Development (CED) from San Diego St. University Fowler Business School and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Associate (LEED GA) from the New York Real Estate Institute.  He is a duly licensed real estate broker in New York and California.

He has been contracted by RTC and FDIC where he evaluated distressed assets and bank-owned/CMBS NPL portfolios.  His largest assignment was in 2010 where he was part of a national consulting team in New York that underwrote over USD 10B nonperforming loan portfolio comprised of 25 asset pools of 268 loans totaling USD 1B in unpaid principal balance that was acquired by a large institutional investor.  The entire portfolio consisted of multifamily, retail, office, industrial, and hospitality assets across 36 states and the work scope comprised of guarantor verification, title clearance, and credit memo review relative to recourse covenants and performing BVO reports on its corresponding collateral assets.

Mr. Chantengco has been involved in the acquisition, development, and management of over 5,000 affordable multifamily units that incorporate best practices in structured finance, real estate, and economic development into “Rethinking Cities for a Sustainable Future."  He was a member of the Shreveport Economic Recovery Taskforce (SERT) and is managing member of Blue Fire Broadband LLC to deploy infrastructure (new broadband).  He is also involved with several projects within U.S. federally-approved Opportunity Zones and New Markets Tax Credits sites.

Immediately preceding his current roles, he was an Associate Broker with HKS Capital Partners LLC in New York, having a loan volume of USD 25B since 2011.  His notable assignment was the winning bid by Brooklyn Health Partners LLC for SUNY Long Island College Hospital healthcare portfolio for USD 250M.  He began in corporate finance and institutional banking at Wells Fargo Bank and CB Richard Ellis, private equity and finance at The Triwest Financial Group Inc., and later, national advisory services at KW Commercial.  

Mr. Chantengco was Director of the University & State Employees (BluePeak) Credit Union with USD 1B in assets serving over 35,000 members and five branches until 2016.  He formed Transnational Renewable Ventures (TNRV), a CPUC-approved solar energy provider.  TNRV was instrumental in the installation of over 500kW of domestic solar power installed on various multifamily properties and recognized as a "Best Commercial Practice" project by Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in 2010.  In 2003, he structured USD 70M in New Markets Tax Credit sub-allocations for various affordable housing projects.   

Mayor Tim Nader selected him to serve as Housing Commissioner to the City of Chula Vista (San Diego County CA) and picked to fill a vacant seat on the Tax Appeals Board to the County of San Diego by Supervisor Brian Bilbray.  He was adjunct faculty at CUNY Baruch and Southwestern College where he was President of its Foundation.  He also sat on the City of San Diego SEDC loan committee.  

He is involved with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Stanford Professionals in Real Estate (SPIRE), Urban Land Institute (ULI), Association of Asian American Investment Managers (AAAIM), The Investment and Diversity Exchange (TIDE), Young Real Estate Professionals New York (YREPNY), and Filipinos in Institutional Real Estate (FIIRE - NY).  He is a past awardee of the Waitt Institute Foundation Scholarship where he completed a Eureka Fellowship in Wash DC. And, he received a Congressional Merit from U.S. Rep. Bob Filner for his advocacy on economic development and community leadership.

He completed Postgraduate Finance at Stanford Business School, M.B.A. summa cum laude from University of Phoenix Sperling Graduate School of Management, 1L J.D. Candidate (Pro Bono Scholarship) from Thomas Jefferson Law School, and B.A. Honors in Biochemistry & Cell Biology from University of California, San Diego.

Joseph Maree 

As Senior Managing Director for Black Pearl Investments, Mr. Maree’s focus is business development with his expansive network of institutional capital and investment-grade opportunities and an eye toward compliance and risk mitigation. 

He has worked as a Financial Analyst for the Merrill Lynch Private Client Group, PNC Bank (Newark, NJ), I.B.M. and New York Life Insurance Company.  Mr. Maree negotiation skills have guided international finance structuring for deals ranging from several million to more than USD 8B, platforming the wisest pathways accessing lowest cost guaranteed financing available in the U.S., Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, Canada and Puerto Rico. The wide array of industrial concerns he has served include manufacturing, insurance, energy production and distribution, coal mining, product distribution and installation, food service, printing, insurance, railroads and resorts, assisting clients in accurate completion of J/V structures, strategic alliances, leveraged recapitalizations, and undertaking or defending against hostile takeovers.  

An abbreviated representative sampling of his experience includes: IHI USD 275M USD Debt Offering; Regulation "S", 144a Safe Harbor Exempted Bond, SEC registered; IMG USD 500M USD Debt Offering, Regulation "S", 144a Safe Harbor Exempted Bond, SEC registered, Bank of NY Corporate Trust-Trustee & Paying Agent; Maverick Films USD 250M USD Debt Offering; Regulation "S", 144a Safe Harbor Exempted Bond, SEC registered; Nordea Bank 165m Euro Project and Credit Enhancement Facility; Dresdner Bank 200M Euro Project & Credit Enhancement Facility.

Mr. Maree's deft mergers and acquisition, finance, securities and debt restructuring talent creates secure pathways to successful profit creation for the Firm and its investors. Essentially, his combined experience and disciplines equates him as a comprehensive knowledge base, eliminating costly time and fee costs for one-off experts. Hands-on direction of regulatory function applying to banking and fundraising responsibilities, correct communication procedure and function addressing tax code, legal, security and life of property PPM application and valuation are among his proven rote attributes. Additionally his knowledge of guidance for correct Reg 506c offering, SEC/FINRA registration and licensing, and Dodd-Frank & Sarbanes Oxley Acts compliance.

He earned a B.B.A. in Economics at Rutgers University and completed the Structured Finance Program at New York University Stern Business School.

Michael Onghai, CFA

Mr. Onghai is a family office investor, serial entrepreneur, author, inventor, and speaker.  He is the seed investor and general partner of Alpha Sigma Capital.  He has been a hedge fund manager for a family office, turn-around operator, angel investor, and a real estate investor.  Over his entire career, his past angel investments include FundersClub, Coinbase, Upflex, and TZero.

He is an advisor to several internet incubators and FundersClub.  Mr. Onghai was the third employee at GeoCities, which was sold to Yahoo! for USD 3.5B.  He is also a member of the highly selective Value Investors Club.  Prior to his entrepreneurial experience, he has worked at Capital Group, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and the Human Genome Project.  He sits on the board of three public companies. 

Mr. Onghai holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.  He also graduated from the Executive Management Certificate Program in Value Investing at Columbia Business School.  

George S. Arau 

Mr. Arau is a Managing Director of Black Pearl Investments.  He serves as capital markets and deal underwriter based out of Black Pearl’s New York office. Mr. Arau has over 20 years of experience in commercial real estate finance and investment, with extensive experience in commercial real estate debt products. 

Over his tenure, Mr. Arau has been involved in transactions totaling over USD 50B in par value while working at institutions such BlackRock, ING Clarion Capital, PB Capital, Lazard Freres, Prudential Real Estate Investors.  Santander Bank, Sabal Capital Partners and Moody’s Investors Service holding revenue generating roles originating and underwriting commercial real estate debt investments.  Mr. Arau has a wide array of real estate finance experience including investment management, structured finance, private equity, banking, and multifamily agency. 

While at BlackRock, Mr. Arau underwrote CRE debt investments for the firm’s high yield debt funds and was directly responsible for portfolio management of Anthracite Capital’s non-investment grade CMBS consisting of 40 trusts with over 5,000 loans totaling over USD 58B in par value. In addition, he oversaw the credit surveillance and delinquent loan resolution for special serviced loans within the CMBS B-piece portfolio which consisted of over 300 loans with over USD 5B in par value.

While at ING Clarion, Mr. Arau served as a senior investment professional with primary responsibility for the acquisition and underwriting of over USD 1B in face value of whole loans, subordinate debt, preferred equity, mezzanine loans, distressed debt, CMBS B-pieces, as well as new issuance and secondary investment grade and non-investment grade CMBS.  Furthermore, Mr. Arau was responsible for the asset management and credit surveillance of ING Clarion’s entire commercial real estate debt portfolio which consisted of over USD 4B in face/notional value of CMBS, CRE loans, CDOs, and other CRE securities, including cash and synthetic positions.

Mr. Arau’s other experience includes origination, structuring and credit analysis of debt products such as bridge loans, construction loans, multifamily agency loans, and mortgage-backed securities.

He holds an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University and a B.A. in Finance and Statistics from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Bryan Hall

 Mr. Hall is the Vice President of Business Development with Black Pearl Investments. A Super Bowl Champion with the Baltimore Ravens, Mr. Hall brings an extensive network of investments, investors, and capital resources.

After a 7 year professional football career, Mr. Hall received his MBA from Arkansas State University. Mr. Hall made a smooth transition off of the field into the business world where he now supports his network with financial resources.

Charles Nedd 

Mr. Nedd has worked in the Banking Industry for almost 25 years that includes serving as the Central Point of Contact with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Regional Banking Organization Group, where he supervised banks with assets ranging from USD 10B to USD 50B. 

Additionally, his financial services industry expertise includes serving in a Senior Regulator capacity with the U.S. Treasury Department, National Credit Union Administration, and the California Department of Business Oversight Committee.  While with the Federal Reserve, Mr. Nedd's responsibilities included developing and executing various supervisory directives, programs, and strategies for large banking institutions. 

He is a co-founder and investor in several privately-held companies, one of which is WSD Engineering Inc., an innovative multi-disciplined Wireless Telecommunication Site Acquisition, Architecture & Engineering Firm.  He is an active real estate investor including commercial, multifamily, and residential subdivisions. 

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Accounting from California State University San Marcos.

Frederick L. Anderson 

Mr. Anderson is premier executive with three decades of professional experience working with various organizations in numerous capacities across several business sectors.

He has an extensive background in real estate and has been involved in numerous development projects where he has structured public-private real estate development transactions valued at over USD 100M and collaborated with state commerce and economic growth commission liaisons to provide assistance to the business community.  This included assistance to county economic development committees to identify business opportunities and gaps, utilizing community development models, contributed to the county alliance economic growth committees strategic plan, focused on building a stable business community to serve its residents and attract added business traffic while he participated in the development of a municipality's economic development department plan to attract commercial business to its redevelopment areas.

He has also served on the board of an affordable housing not-for-profit organization that has rehabilitated over USD 20M in real estate projects and a municipal urban enterprise zone with a budget over USD 5M.

Mr. Anderson is certified by NeighborWorks of America's training program in Analytical Tools & Methods in community economic development, asset management for board members, and exit strategies for LIHTC projects as well as the Greening Your Organization program by the National Main Street Program in Downtown Revitalization, a comprehensive revitalization program that promotes the historic and economic redevelopment of traditional business districts.

His corporate career spans working with such companies as Operating Engineers Local 825, Deloitte, Citicorp, and The Pharmacy Fund, Inc., where he served in various managerial roles and developed his professional skills in accounting, auditing, business development, community development, controllership, finance, marketing, organizational management, sales and systems.

This led Mr. Anderson to establish himself as a veteran consultant that provides a complete range of business services across numerous business disciplines while serving such many sectors such as banking, finance, government, healthcare, e-commerce, manufacturing, non-profits, real estate, retail and technology.

He obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University where he majored in Business Administration and Accounting while minoring in Finance and Economics.

Sean Schexnydre

Mr. Schexnydre is a Business Advisor for Black Pearl Investments. His business acumen includes employment with IQHQ, Realty Income, Biomed Realty, Equitable Advisors and Coldwell Banker. He has over 15 years of experience in underwriting, developing, and managing commercial real estate, specifically with GSA contracts, LIHTC projects, and biotech developments totaling over USD 5B.

Mr. Schexnydre currently holds an active California Real Estate license, and Life & Health licenses. He has also held Series 7 and 66 licenses (FINRA).

He is a graduate of California State University San Marcos with degree designations of a B.S. in Business Administration and Finance.

Nishaal Guzzar

Mr. Guzzar grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and moved to India when he was 12.

He is an avid environmentalist and started the largest youth-led environmental organization in Tamil Nadu, India – The Garden City Youth for Change. During his time volunteering, he was featured in prominent Indian newspapers including the Times of India for his environmental efforts.

After returning to the United States for his higher education, he worked as a student consultant for the Special Olympics Tennessee where he developed his interest in finance. Here, he helped his team put together a USD 20M bid proposal budget for the 2030 USA games.

He is currently a sophomore at Vanderbilt University pursuing a dual B.A. in Economics and Environmental Sociology with a minor in Business.